Brooke Fools Around
by I am no angel 0217
Summary: After months of telling Lucas that she wanted him to be loyal and honest, Brooke is faced to live with her own infidelity.
1. Chapter 1

**Brooke Fools Around**

**Chapter One**

Lucas and Brooke were eating lunch at the food court. Brooke had wanted to go shopping something and convinced Lucas that it would only be for one thing. That was two hours ago.

"Brooke, I really have to go," Lucas said after he finished his sandwich. "I have to see the doctor for a check-up."

"Fine."

"Do you want a ride home?"

"No. I'll stay here for a little while longer."

"Call me if you need a ride."

Lucas kissed Brooke on the forehead and he walked away. Brooke was pissed that Lucas didn't kiss her on the lips. It was just a little thing that shouldn't have bugged her, but it seemed like a lot of little things were happening these days.

As Brooke got up to throw away the rest of her salad, she noticed a guy looking at her. At first she was a little scared, but he was very cute. He was tall with dark brown hair and piercing eyes. She walked over to him.

"I'm Brooke."

"I'm Josh."

"Nice to meet you. I noticed you—"

"I'm sorry I was staring. I was just amazed at your beauty. I couldn't make myself look away."

Brooke blushed a little. "It's okay."

"So your friend?"

"He had something else to do."

"And he left you?"

"Yeah—"

"Sounds like an ass to me."

"Sometimes he is."

"Well, Brooke, would you like to accompany me while I eat? I know you just finished eating, but I'm hungry and I want to know more about you."

"Well, I guess I can stick around."

Brooke couldn't believe how attracted she was to Josh. He was actually interesting, nice, and funny. He was just so perfect that she practically forgot about Lucas.

After Josh finished his food, he said, "Let's go find somewhere private."

He found a janitor's closet and started removing Brooke's clothes. She didn't mind. In fact, she was happy that things were going this way. She started taking off his clothes. He knelt down and spread her legs apart. She moaned in pleasure, so she decided that he deserved a gift for that amazing experience. Soon after, her back was against the wall as they began to have sex.

When it was over, Brooke was spent. "Oh my God, that was amazing."

"You were great."

"You weren't so bad yourself."

"I need to get going, but I want to do this again. Maybe next time not in a janitor's closet, you know."

"Give me your number."

Brooke programmed her number into Josh's cell phone and told her to call him anytime, day or night.

Brooke grabbed her bags and went to the restroom to "freshen up." She wanted to call someone and tell them, but it hit her that she'd just cheated on Lucas. She felt a little guilty, but she didn't regret what she had done. Her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was Lucas.

"Hey, you done shopping yet?"

"Just finished."

"Wanna come hang out?"

"I don't know."

"C'mon. We can watch any movie you want. We can do whatever you want."

"Okay."

Brooke hung up the phone and looked herself in the mirror. She wondered how long she could keep this secret from Lucas. She'd always told him to be honest with her, but now she couldn't be honest with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Brooke sat beside Lucas at his house. They were just staying in that night. They had a movie on, but Brooke couldn't pay attention. Lucas had tried to kiss her a few times that night, but Brooke couldn't bear to kiss him back. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to ever kiss him back. She loved Lucas with all of her heart, but she didn't know if she could be with him. She didn't know if he would ever trust her again if he knew her secret.

"Brooke, what's wrong?" Lucas asked sensing that something was off.

"I don't feel good," she replied.

"Do you need me to do anything? Do you need something to drink or do you need to go home? Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you."

"I think I need to go home, but I can get myself home."

"Okay. Well, call me when you get home."

"I will."

As Brooke drove home, she couldn't keep her mind off of Josh. He was a great guy, but she couldn't just dismiss him as a one-time thing. She wanted to just forget about him, but she couldn't. She hadn't felt so good about someone in such a long time. He made her feel things that she never felt before. When she got home, she sat down outside and called Josh.

"Hey, Josh, it's me, Brooke," she said lightly.

"Hey, Brooke," he replied. "I didn't expect to hear from you tonight."

"Well, what can I say? I had a good time. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

She didn't want to sound desperate, but she was sure that that's what she sounded like to him.

"Well, I can't stop thinking about you either."

"So, what does that mean?"

"I think it means we like each other."

"Yeah, I kind of got that already. I just…I just don't know how to deal with this."

"Why don't you come over for a while?"

"Okay," she replied as she walked back to her car. "I'll be over there as soon as possible. Just tell me where you're at."

Brooke drove to Josh's apartment. She saw him waiting outside for her. He smiled as he saw her walking up the steps to his apartment.

"I'm glad you came," he said as she got closer.

"I'm glad I did, too."

Brooke fell asleep at Josh's apartment. She woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. It was Lucas. She grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom.

"Hey," she said sweetly.

"Where have you been?"

"I've been at home."

"No, you haven't. I've called several times and you never answered. I've been worried about you all night."

"Well, didn't it ever occur to you that maybe I forgot to call you?"

"And you forgot to pick up the phone?"

"Well…"

"Brooke, don't bullshit me. I just want you to honest. That's all I ask. You wanted me to be honest. I think it's only fair that you should be honest, too."

"I am honest. I just didn't pick up the phone because I didn't feel good."

"And you didn't call because you forgot?"

"Exactly."

"Brooke, why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Brooke, why can't you tell me the fucking truth?"

"I am."

"I need to go. There's only so much crap I can put up with at a time."

"Then go."

Brooke slammed the phone down. She started crying. She knew that if she wanted to keep Lucas that she had to keep lying to him, and that wouldn't be fair for either one of them.

"You okay in there, Brooke?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Brooke started scheduling dates with Josh around her dates with Lucas. She felt like she was living a double life. She was outside of the school one day eating lunch with Haley. Everything was going fine until her cell phone rang.

"Aren't you gonna pick that up?" Haley asked after swallowing a bite of her sandwich.

"No," Brooke said simply.

"Who is it?"

"Just a friend."

Haley picked up Brooke's phone. "Who's Josh? Why are there hearts by his name?"

"He's a close friend."

"Oh," Haley said suspiciously.

After school, Haley ran to find Nathan.

"I need to talk to you," she whispered.

"Why?"

"I think Brooke's cheating on Lucas."

"What? What makes you think that?"

"Her phone rang today and it was a guy."

"So, guys call you. That doesn't mean you're cheating on me."

"I know that, but hers had hearts next to his name."

"Maybe he's family."

"No, he's not. She said he was a close friend."

"Well, maybe he is a close friend."

"Nathan, I've seen her phone ring when it's all of her close friends, except me. There are no hearts. The only one with hearts is Lucas."

"Haley, I think you're just assuming too much."

"Nathan, I have this feeling that she's cheating. I know I can't prove it, but I just feel like she's going out with this Josh guy."

"Are you going to tell Lucas?"

"I don't know. Should I?"

"Well, he's your best friend."

"I know, but that's part of the problem. If I tell him and it's true, then I will have broken his heart. If I tell him and it's a lie, he'll be pissed at me for the rest of his life."

"That's not true."

"You don't know him as well as I do."

"I know him well enough to know that he would never push you away. You mean the world to him."

Haley got into Nathan's car. They drove home. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't going away. She didn't know whether to tell Lucas or confront Brooke. She knew that Brooke would probably lie. There was no way that she could catch Brooke cheating on Lucas unless she stalked him, and that would be pathetic. The only person that she could talk to about her suspicions was Nathan, and he thought she was overreacting.

"Josh, I need you to try to keep from calling me while I'm at school," Brooke said when she sat down on Josh's couch. "I nearly got caught. Hell, Haley probably figured it out. Tutor Girl has always been intuitive."

"Why does it matter if you get caught? You don't have a boyfriend, right?"

"Um, I kind of lied to you about that. The guy who left me at the mall was my boyfriend."

"Oh. Then why are you here with me?"

"Because I like you."

"Do you love him?"

"I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure."

"Well, you know, it doesn't matter to me. I still want to be with you. I just need you to be straight with me."

Josh leaned over and kissed Brooke. She felt more at ease in her relationship with Josh, but she knew that she couldn't tell Lucas the truth ever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Brooke was faced with a serious dilemma. She wasn't just lying to Lucas. She was lying Haley as well. She had always been there for Haley. The only thing she ever resented about Haley was when Haley hadn't told her about Lucas's fling with Peyton last year. She forgave Haley without ever telling her that she'd ever been upset. Now she was having to lie to the girl who had always been there for her, even when she was drunk and confused. Haley had become closer to Brooke than Peyton.

"Brooke, we need to talk," Haley said as she caught up with Brooke in the hallway. "I know you're hiding something from me, and I think I deserve to know what it is."

"What do you mean?" Brooke replied nonchalantly.

"That guy Josh is more than just a friend, isn't he?"

Brooke bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say to Haley. If she told Haley, Haley might run to Lucas and tell him. She may be Brooke's best friend, but Haley's relationship with Lucas was much stronger. She knew Haley would never let Lucas get his heart broken.

"He's just an old friend," Brooke lied.

"Brooke, I know you're lying," Haley said in annoyed tone. "Why won't you just be straight with me? You owe me that."

Brooke turned to her with an angry look on her face. "I don't owe you anything. If anything, you owe me. I helped convince you to leave that tour last year. If you hadn't done that, then you and Nathan wouldn't be together. You owe me a lot for that."

"Oh, come on, Brooke," Haley replied rolling her eyes. "You know that I can tell—"

"You can tell what? That I'm trying to keep from strangling you right now because you're being so fucking annoying? That I'm pissed beyond belief because you don't trust me? What can you tell?"

"I can tell that you're lying to me. If you're lying to me about this guy, then that probably means you're lying to Lucas. Brooke, you owe him. He has done everything to prove to you that he's trustworthy. He's gone to the moon and back just prove that he loves you. This is what you do in return? Cheat on him? He doesn't deserve that."

"Oh, come on, Haley," Brooke replied. "I would never cheat on Lucas and you know that. Even if I did, he couldn't say anything about it. It's not like he hasn't ever cheated on me."

"That was a year ago, Brooke. He's changed in a year. He's been honest with you. He's proven more than a million times that he loves you more than life itself. Why can't you just tell him the truth?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be telling the truth?"

"Brooke, you and I may not be the longest of friends, but I can tell when you're lying."

"Haley, just leave me the fuck alone."

Brooke stormed off. Tears started to form in her eyes. She'd just treated her best friend like shit because she wanted to keep this relationship with Josh a secret. As Brooke was walking away, she ran into Lucas.

"What's wrong, Brooke?"

"Nothing. Haley and I just had a bit of an argument."

"A bit of one? You look like shit. What happened?"

"We were just arguing over something stupid. She accused me of something that isn't true. I couldn't convince her that she was full of it, and she just kept giving me a hard time."

Lucas knew that that didn't sound like Haley, but he also knew that Brooke wanted to be in an honest relationship. He tried not to question what had happened. He just comforted Brooke for a minute.

"Do you want me to talk to Haley?"

"No," she said quickly. "That'll just make things worse."

"Okay."

"I lied to my best friend about us today," Brooke said as she drove home. "I knew she'd figure this thing out, and now she's probably going to tell Lucas what's going on."

"What would be so bad about that?" Josh asked.

"I would lose Lucas forever."

"You would still have me."

"That's true, but part of me wants to keep Lucas forever."

"But you're not having fun with him anymore. Your relationship has become boring. You need a break from him. Why not just tell him that?"

"Because that might break his heart. I've tried to date other people with him before, but all it did was hurt him. Besides, he'll find out that we were together before I decided that we should go on a break."

Haley walked over to Lucas's house that afternoon. He'd called her, and she decided that they couldn't have this kind of conversation over the phone. He told her to come over because he wanted to make sure Nathan wasn't with her. He knew if things got heated, Nathan would kick his ass.

"Lucas," she said as he opened the door. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"You upset Brooke today."

"She told you?"

"Yeah, she said you accused her of something. Then she said you just kept attacking her. Haley, what's wrong with you? Brooke doesn't deserve that."

"Lucas, you don't know what I accused her of, and you don't know what happened during our argument."

"Then tell me."

"Brooke should be the one to tell you."

"Well, if you're the one who started the argument, then I think it should be you."

"Luc, this is something that could ruin you. I don't want to do that to you."

"So you'll keep a secret from me to protect me? Haley, you have to be honest with me."

"Brooke really needs to be the one to tell you."

"No, I want you to tell me."

"Lucas, I can't," Haley turned to walk out the door.

"Yes, you can. I've known you your whole life, and I know that you and I don't keep secrets from each other. We've always been honest with each other."

"I didn't tell you about Nathan."

"Okay, one time you lied. Don't do it again."

"I'm not lying, Luc. I'm just trying to keep from hurting you."

"What could hurt me?"

Haley sighed. She hated to be the one to do this. She knew it should've been Brooke, but she knew that Brooke wasn't going to tell him. She was going to string him along and let him suffer silently. Haley had to do this, and she had to do it now. It could ruin her friendship, but Lucas was right about their honesty. She had to tell him the truth.

"Lucas, I think Brooke is cheating on you," she said softly.

"What?"

"I think she's cheating on you."

"You've got to be kidding. Brooke wouldn't do that. She and I have an honest relationship. She tells me everything."

"Well, Lucas, I think she's lying to you about this."

"You think? All you know is that you think. What if you're wrong?"

"Then you can be pissed at me forever, but Lucas, I know I'm right."

"No, this can't be happening."

"But it is."


End file.
